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Alleged rapist captured, charged

Bremerton police arrested a registered sex offender in the early morning hours Friday, Jan. 27 in connection with the abduction and rape of a 17-year-old girl which occurred two days before the arrest.

Arvin Dexter Zarate, 29, was charged with third-degree rape in Kitsap County Superior Court Tuesday. Zarate had moved to Kitsap County earlier this month from Pierce County, registering as a Level 1 sex offender, according to a press release from the police department.

Authorities said the 17-year-old student was waiting for a bus to take her to school in West Bremerton, when Zarate pulled up in a red Chevy Malibu and ordered her to get into his vehicle in order to give her a ride. Instead, police allege, Zarate took the girl to a wooded area several miles away and raped her before returning her to Bremerton and dropping her off.

On the day of the arrest, a patrol officer located a vehicle matching the description of the one caught on tape on a surveillance camera where the abduction took place.

A police report stated the officer observed Zarate walk out of the apartment complex where the vehicle was parked toward the vehicle and identified him as a registered sex offender. The suspect was taken into custody and police said the victim later identified Zarate as the man who raped her.

The vehicle has seized by police as evidence. Zarate is being held on $500,000 bail at the Kitsap County Jail.

His previous convictions include a third-degree rape which occurred in Pierce County in 2001.

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